The senator made the comments on WBUR radio's "Here and Now" when asked if Trump was capable of saying anything that would calm the protests in response to his election victory.

"Well I don't know that he is capable of doing that. He needs to get rid of his cell phone and quit tweeting stupid things," Merkley said. "I think he needs to send a message that he's going be looking out for the interests of all Americans and set aside some of the division and denigration that categorized his campaign."

Merkley expressed disappointment that Thursday evening's protest against Trump in Portland turned violent, citing "anarchists" who took away from the protest's message, asking Trump to move away from his more divisive campaign rhetoric.

Merkley added he would "absolutely" be ready to filibuster a Trump Supreme Court nominee if the nominee was from the fringes. Earlier Friday, Merkley told CNN the open Supreme Court nominee was "stolen" by Republicans.